In 1453, Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and of Eastern Christianity since 324 CE, fell to the Turks under Sultan Muhammad II. The city afterward became the capital of the Ottoman Empire and was renamed Istanbul. Its conquest marked the end of the Middle Ages.

In 1660, Charles II was restored to the English throne after the Puritan Commonwealth.

In 1721, South Carolina was formally incorporated as a royal colony.

In 1790, Rhode Island became the 13th original colony to ratify the United States Constitution.

In 1827, The first nautical school opened in Nantucket, MA, under the name Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin’s Lancasterian School.

In 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state of the union.

In 1854, U.S. President Franklin Pierce signs the Kansas-Nebraska Act, creating two new territories; settlers of the territories would determine the legality of slaveholding.

In 1856, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Bloomington, IL, in which he proclaimed "you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

In 1874, Present constitution of Switzerland takes effect.

In 1886, The first metal snap fastener or press stud was invented by Frenchman Pierre-Albert Raymond, for use in fastening gloves.

In 1900, The trademark "Escalator" was registered by the Otis Elevator Co.

In 1903, Comedian Sir Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England. He died July 27, 2003 at age 100.

In 1912, 15 young women in Philadelphia, PA are fired by Curtis Publishing for dancing the "Turkey Trot" during their lunch break.

In 1914, The liner Empress of Ireland carrying 1,477 passengers and crew collided with the Norwegian freighter Storstadt in the St. Lawrence River in Canada. At least 1,012 people died in one of the worst maritime disasters ever.

In 1916, The official flag of the President of the United States is adopted.

In 1917, The 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was born in Brookline, Mass. He died November 22, 1963 at age 46.

In 1932, World War I veterans began arriving in Washington, D.C., to demand cash bonuses they weren't scheduled to receive for another 13 years.

In 1942, Adolf Hitler ordered all Jews in occupied Paris to wear an identifying yellow star on the left side of their coats.

In 1942, Bing Crosby, the Ken Darby Singers and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra recorded Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" in Los Angeles for Decca Records.

In 1942, Actor John Barrymore died in Hollywood at age 60. He was born February 15, 1882 in Philadelphia PA. His real last name was Blythe.

In 1943, Norman Rockwell's portrait of "Rosie the Riveter" appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

In 1945, US first Marine division conquerors Shuri-castle Okinawa.

In 1953, Mount Everest was conquered as Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norkay of Nepal became the first climbers to reach the summit.

In 1973, Former LAPD Chief of Police Tom Bradley was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, defeating incumbent Sam Yorty. He retired in 1993.

In 1974, President Nixon agreed to turn over 1,200 pages of edited Watergate transcripts.

In 1980, Larry Bird beats out Magic Johnson for NBA rookie of year

In 1989, Student protesters in Tiananmen Square China construct a replica of the Statue of Liberty.

In 1998, Republican elder statesman Barry Goldwater died in Paradise Valley, AZ at age 89. He was born January 1, 1909

In 2000, Fiji's military took control of the nation and declared martial law following a coup attempt by indigenous Fijians in mid-May.

In 2001, Four followers of Osama bin Laden were convicted in New York of a global conspiracy to murder Americans, including the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa that killed 224 people.

In 2002, FBI Director Robert Mueller said there may have been more missed clues before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and suggested for the first time that investigators might have uncovered the plot if they had been more diligent about pursuing leads.

Ten years ago (1994):

Khallid Abdul Muhammad, a former spokesman for the Nation of Islam, was shot and wounded after delivering a speech at the University of California, Riverside; a defrocked Nation of Islam minister, James Edward Bess, was charged. (Bess was later convicted of attempted murder and assault and sentenced to life in prison.)

Former East German leader Erich Honecker died in Chile at age 81.

Five years ago (1999):

The space shuttle Discovery completed the first-ever docking with the international space station.

Olusegun Obasanjo became Nigeria's first civilian president in 15 years, ending a string of military regimes.

One year ago (2003):

President Bush, in a wide-ranging interview with reporters at the White House, repeated his defense of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, and hinted that relations with France remained scarred over its opposition to the war.

AOL Time Warner and Microsoft announced a settlement in their battle over Internet browsers, with the software giant paying AOL $750 million.